Vulnerability DatabaseCVE-2025-2481

CVE-2025-2481:
WordPress vulnerability analysis and mitigation

Overview

CVE-2025-24813 is a critical vulnerability in Apache Tomcat discovered and disclosed on March 10, 2025. The vulnerability affects Apache Tomcat versions 11.0.0-M1 through 11.0.2, 10.1.0-M1 through 10.1.34, and 9.0.0.M1 through 9.0.98. This Path Equivalence vulnerability in the Default Servlet can lead to Remote Code Execution and/or Information disclosure (Apache Advisory).

Technical details

The vulnerability is rated with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with the vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. The issue stems from a Path Equivalence vulnerability involving 'file.Name' (Internal Dot) in the Default Servlet when write operations are enabled. The vulnerability is tracked under multiple CWE categories including CWE-706 (Use of Incorrectly-Resolved Name or Reference), CWE-502 (Deserialization of Untrusted Data), and CWE-44 (Path Equivalence: 'file.name') (NVD Database).

Impact

When successfully exploited, this vulnerability can lead to multiple severe impacts: unauthorized viewing of security-sensitive files, content injection into those files, and under specific conditions, remote code execution through deserialization attacks. The vulnerability has been added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, indicating its significant risk potential (Rapid7 Blog).

Mitigation and workarounds

Users are strongly recommended to upgrade to the fixed versions: Apache Tomcat 11.0.3, 10.1.35, or 9.0.99. If immediate upgrading is not possible, ensure that write operations are disabled for the default servlet (which is the default configuration). CISA has set a due date of April 22, 2025, for federal agencies to apply the necessary mitigations (CISA Advisory).

Community reactions

Security researchers, including those at Rapid7, have noted that while the vulnerability is severe, the specific configuration requirements make broad exploitation unlikely. They emphasize that most real-world exploitation attempts have been unsuccessful due to the non-default configuration requirements (Rapid7 Blog).